Student parking lot break-ins prompt heightened Public Safety surveillance

Two recent rashes of car burglary and vandalism on the University campus have caused damage to at least 16 vehicles and created significant concern among both University Public Safety and Township Police.

In the most recent incident, which occurred late Thursday night or early Friday morning in Parking Lot 23, the passenger side window was shattered in three cars and the driver side door was pried open on another. CD players were stolen from each of the four cars — all of which were parked in Lot 23, according to Public Safety.

In the early morning of April 1, a similar incident of car vandalism occurred. This time, eight cars parked in Lot 23, Lot 23A and in the nearby Magie Apartments lot were affected. Each of the cars had a window broken out, though only one of the vehicles was actually entered by the perpetrators, according to Public Safety Sergeant Alan Lawson.

DJ Thompson '04's 1988 Subaru was vandalized during this first rash. Though his car was not entered by the vandals, it suffered at least $200 in damage from the broken driver-side window.

According to Lawson, these events are "unusual . . . certainly not a trend."

"If it happens again, then we have a problem," he added. Nonetheless, Public Safety has increased its security patrols in the Lot 23 area.

"We are trying to beef up patrols in the lots themselves, and trying to set up surveillance, which is very difficult because it is so difficult to determine when these events will occur," Lawson said.

He said patrols currently pass through the area several times an hour during the night.

Parking lot break-ins certainly are not unprecedented in the Princeton area, according to Township Police Cpt. Peter Savalli.

These sort of events "come in spurts," he said, "usually not this many at once. However, there have been spurts like this in the past."

According to Lawson, a single rash of car break-ins usually occurs on campus about once a year.

There is still much to be uncovered about the events before any significant action can be taken, Savalli said.

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"It is even hard to tell right now when the events actually happened, but my guess would be that they probably did occur all at once," he said.

Currently, neither Public Safety nor Township Police have any suspects in the burglaries. However, both Savalli and Lawson said they do not believe the acts were committed by University students.

Lawson also offered some advice for students who are assigned to park their cars in the Lot 23 area.

"Students who park in the area should make sure their cars are locked, don't keep valuables in plain sight and car radios that slide out should be put in glove compartment or under a seat," he said. "If no valuables are out in plain view, most likely the car will be left alone."

Lawson suggested that students park in well-lit areas when possible and report any suspicious activity in the area.